CBCT planning and guided surgery will save you money by decreasing the time needed for surgery, making your surgeries more precise, decreasing the need for lots of inventory, and making your restorative costs more predictable.

CBCT planning and guided surgery will make you more money through increased case acceptance, more referrals, giving you confidence to tackle more cases, and by helping determine which cases will be complicated and/or less profitable

Dr Glenn writes:

Which Implants To Use

Everyone’s titanium integrates……. some just integrate much cheaper!

Use a value branded implants with a good track record like Blue Sky Bio (my favorite)

Use a conical connection with a platform switch

Use implants with aggressive threading

Reduce Your Risks: Failures are the Kiss of Death

Flap everything you can and bury the implants with primary closure in a 2 stage approach.

Flap rather than punch at uncover to gain keratinized gingival by rolling it to the buccal

Avoid immediate placement until you’re very experienced. I suggest grafting all sites with Maxxues 50:50 Mineralized/Demineralized FDBA ($51 for 0.5cc) mixed with Fusion Bone Binder (Woodland Hills Pharmacy) and covered with a collaplug in single rooted teeth or a Cytoplast TXT-200 Nonresorbable membranes ($40) in molar sockets

Stick with shorter implants (8 and 10mm lengths). There’s almost no value in a longer implant unless primary stability is of the utmost importance (ie immediate and single staged implants which you’re not going to do…… right!?

Tips to do More Implants

Learn to do conservative crestal sinus lifts. 30% of all potential implant sites you encounter will need a sinus bump or a sinus lift.

Buy a CBCT. Having to refer out for scans creates a much bigger barrier than you realize. Most dentists find that the number of implants they do doubles once they get CBCT in office.

Plan cases in front of the patient. The purpose is twofold: you will be able to confidently tell them whether you can do the case and what it will cost right then and there. It also creates a significant “wow factor” when your patients see you using this level of technology and planning.

Lower your prices. Price is your gas pedal. If you want to do more, step on the gas and lower fees. A routine single tooth placed guided takes me an average of 2 hours total time and 3 appointments from start to finish. Even by charging a bundle fee of $2500, you’ll still generate over $1,000 an hour.

Offer in house financing: Implants are perfect for financing since they won’t get the final product for several months after starting the process. Not staying current with payments? No implant crown for you!

Blue Sky Bio Single Cut Drills- These are recommended when using the single drill guided surgery protocol. They are also the same drills that are in the BSB basic surgical kit so if you have a basic kit, you have a guided kit. If you are buying them individually, there is a particular drill matched to each size and type of implant. https://blueskybio.com/pages/bio-cut

We’re very pleased to see leading education specialist TechSoft promote Robox as its No.1 choice of 3D printer for schools in their 2016-2017 Product Guide.

TechSoft was founded in the mid-1980s and soon established itself as a market-leading supplier of CAD and CAD/CAM systems. The TechSoft team have gained great insights into the technology needs and requirements of education in the years since and began supplying 3D printers to schools in 2004.

All of TechSoft’s sales and support staff are either ex-Design and Technology teachers, graduates in Design and related fields or qualified engineers. This means that they not only have a wealth of practical understanding but also understand the subject-specific issues teachers face on a daily basis.

TechSoft’s experience of low-cost 3D printers over the years allows the team to conclude that Robox “stands out from the crowd for accuracy, reliability, cost-effectiveness, ease of use and safety”. We couldn’t agree more. Thank you, TechSoft!

As we start to key up CEL and Robox for dual material printing we have introduced a lot of new concepts. Most of our users will have seen some of these multi-material features creeping into AutoMaker over the most recent few releases. Today we’ve added another new feature with AutoMaker 2.01.02 Download here.

We think that one of the most useful features of multi-material printing is the ability to use one material for your part and the other as support structure. This means with the correct choice of material, support can be greatly improved. One of the Materials we been testing is PolyMaker’s PolySupport, we’ve found it to print well in a wide range of temperatures and have consistent structural and functional properties. PolySupport is designed to be a support material for PLA and we found that although its a PLA based material it delaminates easily from PLA and other materials making it very easy to remove. It has elastic and flexible properties which mean its a joy to peel from your model, infinitely easier than using any other Peel-able support material we’ve tested, in-fact its so good we’ve added a this new support gap option.

To further improve the support that an easily peel-able material can give your part we can remove the gap between the top and bottom surface, this gap was necessary when you needed to break-away support structures of the same material. We semi-automated this option, when AutoMaker sees that you are using a different material for support than the one chosen for your parts it will automatically deselect this option.

I hear some of you say “Why peel-able, why not focus on dissolvable support?”, well, we thought the same when we started to print with multiple materials but quickly discovered that dissolvable material solutions are messy, take a long time and are often difficult to process and store. Peel-able support can often be removed in a few minutes, where dissolvable support material can take hours if not days to disappear and often require some peeling as well. One thing you might have read about on the internet is the use of limonene to dissolve HIPS away from ABS prints, this is not a reality, after only a few tests we found that limonene does dissolve HIPS, but it also damages the ABS beyond usefulness. The other thing is that unless you LOVE the smell of oranges you quickly grow tired of all your parts, the office, your finger and pretty much everything you own having that pungent smell. Don’t misunderstand me, dissolvable materials will have their place, but for a large majority of support applications we feel easy peel-able is the way forward right now.

We’ve also exposed some of the controls around the generation of support structure to you so that you can tune your profiles to get more perfect parts.

Version 2.01.02

Autoupdate now uses port 80 rather than port 8001

Added Support Gap function

This controls the vertical distance between the support material and model material which affects how easily support material can be removed

Disabled automatically if support material is different to model material (useful when using specialised peel-off support material)

Modified status display to make use of Material 1 and Material 2 clearer

When AutoMaker updates are available your system will usually find and offer an update automatically. If you are behind a firewall or some other system which prevents this, please visit www.cel-robox.com/downloads/ and download the most recent AutoMaker package.

AutoMaker sometimes needs to update the firmware on your printer. Please allow the firmware to update as requested by AutoMaker. If you do not allow the firmware update to take place, AutoMaker may not be able to communicate with your printer.

IMPORTANT NOTE: a firmware update will power cycle your printer so ensure no operations such as a print or calibration are running at the time of the firmware update.

When I first used a 3D printer in 2005, Stratasys and 3D Systems were the only players in town and the costs of their systems were truly eye-watering. The Stratasys Dimension BST we used then cost over £19,000 and reels of filament over £200 each.

In the decade since, key 3D printing patents held by those once pioneering manufacturers have expired and the open source RepRap project has triggered a wave of desktop 3D printer innovations. The cost of 3D printing technologies has now plummeted (Robox costs less than £1,000 with reels of filament under £30 each) at the same time as we’ve seen significant advances in speed and capabilities – thanks also in part to the recent proliferation of very high quality, but totally free, 3D modelling tools. The technology has become much simpler, more affordable and therefore more accessible to everyone.

3D printers are fast becoming staples of secondary school D&T departments. Our work with the James Dyson Foundation is seeing us develop some truly exciting and innovative STEM programmes aimed at encouraging students and teachers to use 3D printers and inspiring them to think creatively about design and technology. While our work has initially focused on programmes in secondary schools, our efforts to help stimulate young people are now leading us to help develop new programmes with partner schools at even earlier stages in the education curriculum.

One exciting programme is being pioneered by Josh Rigby, D&T Leader at Blackfield Primary School, part of the Inspire Learning Federation. His Year 6 ‘Lift Off’ project is now in its second year and engages pupils to develop and build remote controlled hovercraft. They use Robox and free 3D modelling tools from Autodesk such as Tinkercad and 123D Design to customise their hovercrafts for identified target audiences.

Pupils at Blackfield Primary School use Tinkercad to create custom parts for their hovercrafts.

Another project he leads, titled ‘Dyson Design,’ engages Year 4 pupils in the design of modern desktop equipment for the classroom of the future. The project helps 8-year-old pupils get to grips with technical drawings and requires them toconsider a range of materials for their designs, which are then developed in Tinkercad.

We’re also helping to introduce 3D printing to a pioneering, ambitious education project targeting primary age children in Scotland. Martyn Hendry, STEM Co-ordinator in East Ayrshire Council, has just completed a Robox pilot programme in a number of primary schools in his authority to see how 3D printers can be introduced into the curriculum. Working with projects he’s developed to inspire creative thinking, and supported by entrepreneurs and people from industry, teachers have reported a very enthusiastic response from pupils. One school has even broadened the project to the Primary 2 year group of 6-year-olds.

Malachy Ryan, from engineering consultancy Alan White Design, demonstrates design innovations to pupils at St Andrews Primary School as part of the DYW programme.
Martyn is helping to ensure Robox plays its part in the Scottish government’s youth employment strategy, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) – a seven-year programme that aims to better prepare children and young people from 3-18 for the world of work. The success of the Robox pilot programme and Scottish government programmes such as DYW herald the beginning of a much more ambitious rollout of 3D printers to schools and organisations in the region.

Dumfries House Education, a cluster of six bespoke training centres situated in the stunning 18th century Ayrshire Dumfries House estate, is one such organisation using Robox to help deliver experiential, hands-on activities for young people. The centres offer a selection of education and training programmes designed to support learners in Primary and Secondary education with the Engineering Education Centre’s aim being to excite young people about science and technology. Dumfries House Education grew from HRH the Prince of Wales’ desire to see young people engage in learning experiences thatpromote confidence, personal development and offer training in real life skills. Their inspirational workshops are available to schools, youth groups and local authorities in the region and Martyn is actively involved helping to integrate 3D printing into their programmes.

Robox is providing schools with a more cost-effective, straightforward option to bring 3D printing to classrooms and workshops around the UK. As a British 3D printer manufacturer making the world’s only desktop 3D printer with an interlocking safety door, we are uniquely placed to work with the James Dyson Foundation and schools across the country to help improve learning outcomes and empower teachers and schoolchildren to invent, to think creatively about design and technology and not be afraid to make mistakes. Martyn Hendry reports how 3D printers and computer-aided design (CAD) software have helped children as young as 9 understand mathematical concepts such as negative numbers: “There was just no justification for using CAD without a 3D printer. 3D printers embed the technical drawing while the teaching and learning is embedded in the use of CAD.”

For more information about what we’re doing, read a previous article here or contact me directly using the links below.

About Grant Mackenzie

Grant is Robox Sales Manager for the EMEA region. He’s based in CEL’s UK head office. Contact Grant

SLA (Stereolithography ) is often compared to the FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) / FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) process of 3D printing and always shows very impressive results. The detail level is far superior for SLA but there are a lot of complications to the process. Due to the huge numbers of dentists, dental labs and orthodontists contacting us recently I thought I would share some of what I have learned.

The most common comparison is the strength of the parts created from resin vs those created with fused filament which always comes out on top. Next are the many resin handling issues which make filament printers much easier and safer to use.

It is easy to discount FFF/FDM completely by just looking at pictures of the excellent smoothness of an SLA print vs an FDM print. The SLA process can create a smoother and more detailed surface finish and and can create a fully solid, partially transparent part which is difficult to achieve on FFF /FDM machines without post processing.This makes it harder for those of us demonstrating fused filament fabrication printers to keep a viewers attention.

To someone viewing the printed results of 2 models side by side it would be hard to choose the FFF / FDM print if visual quality or surface detail was the goal. In a comparison of useability which requires strength, the FFF /FDM print is far more likely to come out on top particularly due to the huge selection of material types available. The SLA materials tend to be closely linked to specific printers, it is unlikely a 3rd party resin will be allowed or compatible. This limits the SLA user to the resins developed by that manufacturer. In a comparison of workflow the SLA process is quite scary, warning labels and notes on resin handling and cleanup dominate but the consumption of core components of the SLA printer along with litres at a time of IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) and the expensive resin is certainly worth exploring before any decision is made to exclude filament printing. The accuracy of the two methods should theoretically be the same but I have yet to see an SLA print which has been perfectly dimensionally accurate while my Robox is within 0.01mm in all axes without my input all day every day. Cost comparisons are far further apart than the price of the printers would suggest. SLA resin cost is high, plastic filament cost is low. This expensive resin is wasted with every print, plastic filament is only extruded as required. This cost in particular is not shown in “part cost comparisons”, nor is the very wasteful rinsing in IPA to remove excess resin following a print or the cost of the consumable resin carrying and curing parts, or the disposal and storage as well as low shelf life for expensive SLA resins. Oh and the space required for SLA printing is rarely mentioned, you really need a spare room and some strict policies to control the spread of sticky resin the smell and the harm to the environment.

In the chart below I’ve listed some positives and negatives of each method along with typical usage and costs.Blue indicates the best in my opinion for each row. I obviously support filament printers in this, perhaps your comments can sway my opinion?

Considerable space requirement to keep several large pieces of equipment away from other equipment and work areas

Range of materials in many colours and with a huge range of mechanical properties

Very limited range of materials, locked to manufacturer

Opaque parts unless post processed

Optical clarity in some materials

Material dependant useable indefinitely

Low shelf life of parts due to UV exposure

Low cost of consumable parts

High cost of consumable parts

Material cost is low $25 per kg

Material cost is high $99 per kg + processing and waste!

Medium flexural strength (material relevant to medical use)

Low flexural strength (material relevant to medical use)

Low upfront equipment cost

High upfront equipment cost, printer and additional equipment

Potential for dual material with dissolvable or peel away support

Single material with mechanical removal of support

System allows dual material for overmolded parts and pause features for inserting captive objects

No system for inserted or overmolded parts

No training required for use or handling

High level of materials handling trainingrequired

My conclusion is this:

SLA is not a threat to FFF / FDM printing, if anything the 2 methods can work side by side as their benefits do not overlap. Personally I would not let the resin (or the smell of it) near my home or my family but if I had a dedicated space within a business and the training and staff to run this then I would consider SLA as an addition to several far lower priced FFF /FDM printers. I could print many iterations of a design on the filament printers and perhaps a surface model on the SLA machine once the design was final, actually it might be best to just outsource that part…

SLA should remain in the hands of professional labs or dedicated service providers, FFF /FDM is for everyone. In fact with the low cost of filament printers, every designer should have one on their desk.

A key driver of desktop 3D printing technology adoption over the last few years has been the proliferation of completely free 3D modelling tools that are, crucially, user-friendly and extremely high quality. Since these tools are such powerful enablers of 3D printing technology and, during meetings with customers, I often end up sharing my thoughts on the merits of various 3D modelling software tools anyway, I considered I should offer a short summary of tools I use personally and would recommend for use with any 3D printer.

Each tool listed here performs distinct tasks in the 3D modelling process so there’s no overlap of functions between them. The purpose of this list is purely to inform of the tools that I use personally, not to offer any kind of comparison. Some more advanced users may scoff at my 3D modelling arsenal, but I’d ask that they bear in mind my non-engineering background. Despite my novice experience and skills, I’ve found that the following tools work very well together to do pretty much anything I want to do – from designing high-precision mechanisms to personalising Xmas gifts. All of these software tools are free to use because, like most people, I don’t like spending money when I don’t have to.

I use this tool from Microsoft all the time to edit 3D models as it has the cleanest, most user-friendly interface of any 3D modelling tool I’ve used. It looks and feels great, especially when I use it to demonstrate how easy it is to customise and personalise any one of the thousands of free 3D models available from online repositories such as Thingiverse or MyMiniFactory (the latter is integrated into Robox’s AutoMaker software). While 3D Builder is in its element when used to emboss text, logos and other images, it’s equally superb in other areas such as splitting and resizing large models into smaller parts.

This is another free tool that I use all the time, but for creating 3D models rather than editing them. 123D Design is made by Autodesk and, as a result, it’s clean, simple and easy to use with a range of features that satisfies virtually all of my modelling needs. While it lacks most of the advanced features found in 3D modelling software tools such as SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor, it does boast a key feature not found in most expensive 3D modelling tools – the ability to save to the cloud.

I frequently recommend 123D Design since it’s completely free and offers versatile, powerful functionality with an interface suitable for novices and professionals alike. Its high quality is thanks to it being made by one of the best 3D software development companies in the world, which also happens to make the next 3D modelling tool on this list.

Meshmixer is my tool of choice for touching up 3D models. The thing I like most about Meshmixer is the way that models can be sculpted naturally by pulling and pushing on surfaces or cutting parts of a model away. Packed with a wide range of versatile, powerful features which perform extremely useful functions such as smoothing and distorting a surface or hollowing out a model, Autodesk’s Meshmixer is an essential tool in my box of freebies.

An important point to note is that Meshmixer is used to edit organic, rather than geometric, models. An organic model consists of natural, flowing curves and shapes whereas a geometric model is one that comprises perfect, uniform shapes that don’t often appear in nature. The model created in 123D Design above, for example, from geometric shapes such as rectangles, triangles and circles wouldn’t edit well in Meshmixer. However, models captured from 3D scans, such as the duck below, are perfect for editing with this tool, which brings me to yet another Autodesk product…

The final free 3D modelling tool on this list is, without a doubt, the most accessible 3D scanning tool out there. Again, it’s completely free but, unlike the other software listed here, it’s designed to be used on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computer. 123D Catch is an extremely cost-effective (free!) and convenient alternative to dedicated handheld 3D scanning equipment, which starts at around £300 and typically looks like something airport security would get out if you set off a metal detector. I’ve used the app to scan people, objects, buildings, you name it. The app is easy to use and can produce good quality scans, which can be improved further and touched up using Meshmixer. The only drawback to this app is the length of time it takes for photos to be uploaded to Autodesk and processed. It can be a little frustrating – especially if you have poor mobile phone signal! – but I understand frustration to be a feature of all current handheld 3D scanning technologies to a greater or lesser extent.

I did consider adding a fifth 3D modelling tool to this list since 4 is an unusual number to end a list on, but since these four tools take up around 95% of my 3D modelling time I didn’t feel it was appropriate to add another. Tinkercad would most likely have been the fifth free tool , which you can see in action below:

The combined value of this small collection of tools is considerably more than the sum of its parts. When used together, these apps can transform any 3D printer from a novelty to magic. Although I’m currently experimenting with more heavy duty 3D modelling software such as SpaceClaim (I’ve received a free trial) and may end up adding more software to this list, for now I think I’ll be sticking with the free stuff.

Please note: CEL has no commercial ties with Autodesk. They just so happen to make a great suite of free 3D modelling tools.

Dr. Ferguson is a Diplomat of the ICOI, Associate Fellow of the AAID, Clinical Assistant Professor University of Florida. He has lectured nationally and internationally He teaches live surgery and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Miami GPR Program. He has a full time private practice in Davie, FL. His course in dental implants can be viewed on his website here http://www.implanteducators.com/index.php/courses/3d-course

Dr Ferguson gives a brief look at previous guided surgery techniques and guides and compares them to the current method he uses and teaches in using 3D printed surgical guides. Rick describes the development of his technique which enables in practice low cost guided surgery.

Several cases are presented during this webinar including each stage of the workflow for each case, reasoning and options, costs and alternatives. Please note that case documentation includes 3D scans of bones as well as photos and video of guided surgery taking place which is quite graphic, the information presented is more suited to dentists than patients.

You can buy a Robox as used by Dr Ferguson directly from Blue Sky Bio’s US website (select United States from the dropdown on their site) https://blueskybio.com/store/cel-robox or from a Robox reseller closer to youwww.cel-robox.com/where-to-buy/. The material used to print surgical guides with Robox is nGen by Dutch company Colorfabb, you can buy this from Robox resellers on Robox SmartReels. Robox does allow printing with materials from other suppliers and the range of materials available on SmartReels is constantly being updated.

“Robox is an amazing tool for learning. In my studies, it has allowed me to bring my ideas and concepts into the physical world. Producing something traditionally which is as complex or intricate as what can be produced using a 3D printer, would require years of training on professional tools or be impossible to be produced as a single object. This obviously would be an impossibility for a student who wants to envision their ideas into reality. As a student myself, I do not have the skills or knowledge to use high level manufacturing equipment, but have unique ideas. By removing the complexities of the production process, it allows multiple ideas to be produced with ease.

“The innovative design of the Robox 3D printer allows easy to load materials, again, reducing the complexity of the production process. Its simple UI offers ease of use to both new and experienced users with the advanced functionality. My favourite feature is the heated bed, this allows printing to start up almost immediately, and not require bed preparation; which is the case for many 3D printers.

“Robox allows people like myself, to be able to envision our ideas, and make them reality. By having physical objects, we learn from mistakes in design, and gain a more practised knowledge of design. Robox is essentially a workshop in a box.”

If you’ve downloaded the latest version of AutoMaker then you may have noticed that we’ve activated Spiral Printing for you to play with. Robox is particularly good at spiral printing as it offers the highest ranges of wall thickness without having to remove and replace the nozzle.

Below is a quick guide on how to best use this new feature.
There are a number of things that you should be aware of when trying this feature.

Only place one object on the bed at any time.
Because of the nature of spiral printing the flow of material from the nozzles does not stop and start. Placing more than one object on the bed means that the models would be impossible to print in one continuous extrusion.

Ensure that your print has only one continuous island from bottom to top.
This is for the same reason – multiple islands on any layer means that the flow of material has to stop and start. Spiral printing is designed to avoid this.

Consider how thick you want the base to be
This is one of the few controls Automaker has for spiral printing, the number of layers you choose and the layer thickness will equate to your base thickness before spiral printing starts. The first layer is always 0.3mm and as a guide I would ensure that this is the minimum filament width to ensure good adhesion to the bed. The sequence layers heights are controlled by, yes you’ve guessed it, ‘layer height’. So for example if you’ve chosen a layer height of 0.2mm and 5 base layers your spiral print with have a 1.1mm thick base. (0.3mm + (4 x 0.2mm))

Think about what wall thickness you want
After the base of your part is completed the system moves to the spiral printed section, continuously moving up as it orbits the perimeter of your design laying down a single line of filament. The wall thickness is controlled by the perimeter width and because its only going to be done in one pass you may want to increase it and use the larger 0.8mm nozzle to create wall thickness of up to 1.2mm. As a guide I’ve found that the ratio between layer height and wall thickness should be between 2:1 – 5:1, the thicker the wall and the smaller the layer height the more likely overhangs will be printed perfectly.

The part must be solid, not hollowed out with a wall thickness
Because we are using ‘Solid layers at Bottom’ and perimeter thickness to control the thickness of your part the part needs to be a solid to start with. If you want an inner and outer shell, and don’t mind a hollow centre you can use an idea I had when designing the is thermal mug: add a very thin cut down through the part to make each layer a single perimeter again. On the photo below, you can see that the sequence of printing is outside surface of the bowl -> half the handle -> inside surface of the bowl -> half the handle -> outside surface of the bowl… and so on…6 . Your design is less than 99mm tall
Robox has a 100mm Z-build height, but because of the way Cura adds the Z move to every move on the layer sometimes the sliced part will come out slightly above 100mm. The post processor will throw this out as impossible print, so to avoid this scale your part to ensure it is less than 99mm high.

You can download the cup above from this link. robox_spiral_mug.stl

Or the Vase with Support engineer Lee’s face on it by clicking the image above. LeeVase_Mk2.stl

A kit that includes all the parts you need to turn Robox into a dual material system.

The Dual Material head consists of 2 independently controlled heated nozzles each with the unique Robox needle valve control system. Also included is a 2nd extruder which is very easy to install in your Robox and a reel holder which will feed the 2nd material.